Owner decides the timing is right to revive a St. Augustine hotel project

The Best Western welcome center, on the Corner of San Marco Avenue and Castillo Drive, is seen Wednesday morning, April 2, 2014.

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A hotel project left dormant for years is being revived in the San Marco area.

Hotelier Kanti Patel, CEO of Jalaram Hotels, Inc., went before the St. Augustine Planning and Zoning Board Tuesday to make sure he could move forward with a building plan that has already gone through a series of approvals — the last in 2008.

Almost a decade ago, Patel started the process of getting the city’s approval for a grand hotel at 28 San Marco Ave. and 6 West Castillo Drive.

As the project slowly went through the review process, the plans were regularly altered. But the final version was an 84-room hotel in Victorian style.

Back in 2005, Patel told The Record that he wanted to model his new hotel on the old Hotel San Marco, which was built in 1885 and destroyed by a fire five years later.

“I love the history and the more I have learned, I would like to do an historic hotel again,” Patel said in 2005. “We want to bring the old days back.”

The Planned Unit Development was approved by the city in 2006, and Patel went before the St. Augustine Historical Architectural Review Board for final details. Patel’s plan was granted a certificate of appropriateness in 2008, pending final approval of paint colors and hardware.

But by that time, things had started to change on the business front.

“The economy fell down,” Patel said Tuesday.

So instead of pushing ahead, Patel sat on the project with an eye to the future.

Calling it a simple matter of timing, Patel said he’s ready to get the new hotel going. He sees San Marco as an area of great growth potential.

But before the project can finally get dirt moving, Patel had to make sure his previous approval was still valid.

After hearing the details of the situation Tuesday, the PZB voted unanimously in favor of the validity of Patel’s previous approval.

“I think it’s still a good project,” board member John Valdes said.

Patel certainly understands the business of hotels, especially in St. Augustine’s historic district. His company currently owns the Best Western Spanish Quarter on Castillo, which will be demolished to make room for the new hotel. Jalaram Hotels also owns the Hilton Historic Bayfront.

Like the Hilton, the new hotel will have an underground parking garage.

When Patel first proposed the San Marco hotel, he was expecting it to be a Marriott. With the long layoff, Patel said he wasn’t sure whether Marriott, Hilton or another brand will attach itself to the project. But he said he wasn’t worried about acquiring an affiliation with a hotel in such a desired location.

As proof of that, one need only look a few blocks north, where a new Doubletree is being constructed at the site of the San Marco Inn.